10. Jaws 2 (1978)
Sequel To: Steven Spielberg's career-making blockbuster
Jaws.
Who Made It?: Jeannot Szwarc, who later made
Supergirl and
Santa Clause: The Movie. His TV credits include
Fringe,
Boston Legal and the 200th episode of
Smallville.
Why Was It Made?: Spielberg's film changed the face of summer releases, setting off a chain of events which eventually resulted in the summer blockbuster that we know and love (or hate). Together with
Star Wars, it proved that studios could make money during the summer, and that B-movie material (a killer shark) could achieve widespread appeal with the help of an A-movie budget.
Why Is It So Bad?: While it's widely held that the third and fourth
Jaws films are genuinely terrible,
Jaws 2 deserves its fair share of derision because it is the exact opposite of the original in so many ways. The original worked because it kept things simple and withheld the monster for as long as possible; we only got glimpses of 'Bruce' during the first few attacks, which built up tension before the big reveal. In
Jaws 2, there is more emphasis on action and soap opera dialogue, showing the monster far too soon and then getting bogged down while retreading old ground. Put simply, the film takes something that terrified audiences and fails to make it scary.
What Happened Next?: The series limped on with
Jaws 3D and finally
Jaws: The Revenge, starring Michael Caine. Caine won his first Oscar, for
Hannah and Her Sisters, while filming on location in the Bahamas.